Royals win streak snapped with losses to two top teams

By Lee Griffi

Tavistock had won four straight games heading into last weekend, but two tough matchups brought the streak to a grinding halt.

The Royals travelled to Petrolia on Friday and, despite a ferocious comeback, dropped a 6-5 overtime decision to the second-place Squires. Trailing 5-3 with just over two minutes left in the third period, Lucas Bast scored a shorthanded marker at the 2:10 mark, followed by an even-strength goal by Drew Gerth 30 seconds later to force overtime.

Kyler Keating ended the game with a power-play goal while Bryan Foster was serving a tripping minor to give Petrolia their fifth straight victory.

Greg Noyes, Lucas Bast, Mitch Atkins and Erik Robichaud each had a goal and an assist for the Royals who were outshot 47-33.

On Saturday, the Royals hosted Seaforth and dropped a 4-1 decision. The first period was scoreless despite Tavistock outshooting the Centenaires 12-5. Seaforth led 2-1 after 40 minutes and scored only two goals in the third period to earn their third win in a row. Robichaud scored his second of the season for the Royals, who outshot the visitors 39-36.

Head Coach Tyson Zehr said his team was guilty of not putting in two full 60-minute games.

“We knew how important this weekend was for us against two of the top teams in the division, and to come away with just one point is disappointing. I thought our effort was there, but at this level, effort alone isn’t enough. We have to execute and play a full game. It was a good reminder of where our standard needs to be heading into the playoffs.”

Zehr added while he was impressed with the comeback on Friday, the Royals made too many mistakes.

“I thought we did a lot of good things and battled hard to push it to overtime against a very good team, but at this level, you have to bring it for a full 60 minutes. We had stretches where we were really strong, and others where we let them take control. Cleaning up those lapses is the difference between a close loss and a win.”

Tavistock gave up shorthanded and powerplay goals on Saturday, but Zehr said part of the blame for the loss falls on him as coach.

“Special teams definitely hurt us, but five-on-five, I actually liked a lot of what we did. A big lesson for myself and our staff is the utilization of our fourth line. We have some of the best depth in the league, and I didn’t do a good enough job getting our fourth line involved and keeping everyone fresh. Going into the playoffs, that balance is going to be really important because you can’t lean on the same guys every shift, especially when you have big games on back-to-back nights.” 

The Royals first-round playoffs opponent hasn’t been decided yet, but odds are either Elora or Erin will be the matchup. Zehr said whoever they face, he’s confident.

“Over the last month, we’ve been building strong habits and sharpening our game heading into the playoffs, and I like where our game is at. After testing ourselves against the top two teams in the division this weekend, I feel confident we can compete with anyone.”

Tavistock plays its final regular-season game in Erin on Saturday night.